In the field of cosmetic preparations for skin care and hair care, and also in the field of pharmaceutical preparations, a large number of requirements are imposed by the consumer: apart from the cleaning and care effects, which determine the intended use, value is placed on such differing parameters as highest possible dermatological compatibility, good refatting properties, elegant appearance, optimum sensory impression and storage stability.
Preparations which are used for the cleaning and care of the human skin and hair generally comprise, besides a series of surface-active substances, in particular oil bodies and water. The oil bodies/emollients used are, for example, hydrocarbons, ester oils and also vegetable and animal oils/fats/waxes. In order to meet the high requirements of the market with regard to sensory properties and optimum dermatological compatibility, new oil bodies are being continually developed and tested.
Esters of hexyldecanol with fatty acids are known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,391,287 (L'Oréal), where hexyldecyl caprylate (=octanoate), hexydecyl laurate (=dodecanoate), hexydecyl palmitate (=hexadecanoate) and hexyldecyl stearate (=octadecanoate) are described as cosolubilizers for bicyclic aromatic compounds. Furthermore, the compound hexyldecyl 2-ethylhexanoate is sold by Kokyu Alcohol Co. Ltd under the trade name ICEH.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,664 describes esters of alpha-methyl-branched alcohols with acids and their use as “conditioning agents” for the skin. A disadvantage of these esters is their unsatisfactory sensory properties and also their low stability, in particular upon thermal stress.
In the Journal of the American Society, vol. 107, No. 24 from 1985 on p. 7073 in Scheme II as Example 11, G. Kirchner et al. describe an ester of 2-hexadecanol and butanoic acid.
There is still a need for new oil bodies which have a more flexible use spectrum (e.g. compatibility with further cosmetic ingredients) and also meet the high requirements placed on the sensory properties. Of particular interest are oil bodies which produce a feeling referred to as “light” on the skin. The distributability and speadability on the skin are of great importance. The modern consumer requires that oil bodies and the preparations produced therefrom generate a soft skin feel and that the skin feels cared for. A further requirement of modern raw materials for cosmetic and/or pharmaceutical preparations is that they can be obtained on the basis of renewable, vegetable raw materials. Of particular interest are compounds that are characterized by advantageous sensory properties, and also of particular interest are compounds which are storage-stable, in particular storage-stable at elevated temperatures.
It was an object of the present invention to provide novel substances which are suitable for cosmetic and/or pharmaceutical preparations, in particular as oil bodies/emollients and produce a sensorially particularly “light” skin feel. Furthermore, these substances should be obtainable on the basis of renewable vegetable raw materials.